Assistant Chief Constable Steve Barry, head of Surrey and Sussex Police Operations, assured: "Our drone operations will be overt, open and transparent, and we will use all outlets available to us to ensure the public are informed of our drone use."

He added: "We have consulted extensively with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and the Office of Surveillance Commissioners (OSC), both of whom are satisfied with the approach we have taken over privacy and data protection. The OSC recently saw the Gatwick drone being operated and was impressed with our operational protocols."